Colorado Changes Everything
by PositiveOutcomesOnly
Summary: Gabriella's mom is forced to travel to Spain to take care of Gabriella's sick grandmother and she doesn't want her daughter to be worried, so she sends Gabriella to spend Christmas and New Year's with the person Gabriella hates the most in the world; Sharpay Evans.
1. Holidays Are Gonna Be Fun Right?

Colorado Changes Everything

**Summary: **Gabriella's mom is forced to travel to Spain to take care of Gabriella's sick grandmother and she doesn't want her daughter to be worried, so she sends Gabriella to spend Christmas and New Year's with the person Gabriella hates the most in the world; Sharpay Evans.

**Rating: **M

**Pairing: **Gabpay, so this is a femslash. Don't like it, don't read it

**Author: **PositiveOutcomesOnly

* * *

Gabriella woke up in a cold Saturday morning by the smell of her mother's delicious pancakes. She smiled as she felt her stomach grumble and she sat up with a long yawn. She stretched and threw the covers away, immediately cursing herself because of the coldness. She stood up and grabbed her robe and put it on. She put on her pink slippers and made her way out of the room.

While she made her way down the stairs she couldn't help but notice the amount of bags and stuff that were put into boxes and she frowned. The holidays were coming up, things were supposed to be out of boxes and decorating the entire house, so why there boxes and bags everywhere?

"Morning sweetie." Helena Montez smiled at her daughter as she placed a plate full of pancakes on the table.

Gabriella smiled and walked over to her mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning mom." she took her seat and stabbed one pancake with her fork and cut a piece, putting it into her mouth. She loved her mother's pancakes, they were sweeter than most and they had a bit of a chocolate taste. Helena had taught her daughter how to make them, she got the recipe from her mother, and Gabriella really was a great cook, but there's nothing like Helena's food.

"Did you sleep well?" Helena asked and sat down with her daughter.

"Yeah, really well. I'm so glad school's over." Gabriella sighed relieved. "So, what's with the boxes?" she looked up at her mother. Helena sighed. "Please don't tell me we're moving again!"

"No, we're definitely not moving." Helena assured her. "Do you remember your grandmother went to live in Spain?"

"Grandma Lilly? Yeah, I do." Gabriella said.

"Well, she's sick and she asked me to stay with her during the Holidays." Helena said. "And I'm going there to take care of her."

"Oh mom, I don't wanna go all the way to Spain, I mean, I promised Tay we'd go to a concert before Christmas! She said there's this choir who sings Holiday songs and it's amazing!" Gabriella said.

"Don't worry, _chica_, you won't go to Spain." Helena said, chuckling. Gabriella frowned in confusion.

"Am I gonna stay with Tay then?" she asked excitedly.

"No. I even called her mother, she said they're going on a trip to California. She said Kelsi's going with them, so you won't be staying with her either." Helena said. "Your friend Martha is going to visit her relatives in France."

"Well then who am I going to stay with?" Gabriella asked.

"I asked Martha if she knew anyone who you could stay with and she gave me this boy's number. Ryan." Helena asked. "I called him, I talked to him, I talked to his parents and they said you can stay with them." Helena smiled big, thinking her daughter would be happy to know she was gonna stay with her friend. "They said his sister was gonna be thrilled to know you're gonna stay with them."

"What?" Gabriella asked. "This is a joke, right?"

"No, it's not. What's wrong?" Helena asked, confused.

"I mean, me and Ryan's sister do _not _get along! She tried to sabotage the show so she could get the part and she tried to steal Troy from me!" Gabriella said. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry, I thought you were going to like the news." Helena said. Gabriella sighed. She knew her mother did everything to make her happy and it hurt her to see her disappointed.

"It's okay mom, it's not your fault." Gabriella said. "I mean, I don't have to spend the Holidays hating Sharpay, I can talk to Ryan."

"Exactly." Helena smiled, seeing her daughter was adjusting to the idea.

"So, when are you going?" Gabriella asked.

"Tomorrow morning. I'm dropping you off today." Helena said, standing up to put their plates in the dishwasher.

"What? Today? But mom, I haven't even packed yet!" Gabriella said.

"Don't worry sweetie, I packed your coats, your beautiful red dress for Christmas and that white dress for New Year's Eve. You just need to pack your shoes and clothes. I packed your toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush and your hair products." Helena said.

"Shoes and clothes? Mom, do you realize that it's gonna take forever to pack it all." Gabriella said.

"Don't worry sweetie, I can help you." Helena said. "Let's get going because I promised I was gonna drop you off before lunch. I talked ot Ryan's mother, she's a lovely lady, she said you could stay with them for lunch so I didn't need to worry about you."

Gabriella stood up and followed her mother upstairs.

"I still need to stop by and thank them." Helena said. "Apparently, they're going to Colorado."

"Colorado?"

"Yeah." Helena said.

Gabriella was getting more and more surprises as the time passed. She sighed as she went to her room and started packing, with the help of her mom.

.

Gabriella sat in the passenger seat looking out the window. She loved the cold weather. She loved being able to sit by a fireplace, drinking hot chocolate or sometimes hot coffee, or the drink she made for herself called Gabiccino. She giggled as she thought of the name she gave it and sighed.

"Mom, I haven't bought any presents for them!" Gabriella remembered.

"Oh yeah..." Helena said. "Maybe you and Ryan can go to the mall and buy something."

Gabriella sighed. She still didn't want to go, because Ryan was still Sharpay's brother, and no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, Sharpay was gonna be there too.

"We're here." Helena said with a smile. She stopped by the gate and pressed a bit blue button and soon a voice came through it.

"_Who is it?_"

"Helena and Gabriella Montez." Helena said.

"_Oh, come in, Ms. Montez_!" the voice said cheerily. Gabriella frowned, thinking it was maybe Ryan's father or a butler.

The huge golden gates opened and Helena drove inside. She parked beside a silver BMW. Gabriella looked at the parking lot and was impressed by how many cars they had. There was the silver BMW, a black comvertible BMW, a silver Lamborghini and, of course, Sharpay's pink comvertible. Gabriella rolled her eyes at the car.

Helena got out of the car and went to the trunk to get Gabriella's luggage. Gabriella got out and went to help her mother. As soon as they got the black luggage out of the car, a tall, brown haired man came out of the door.

"Don't worry, I can take it." he said with a smile. "I'm Vincent, the Evans' butler."

"Oh, thank you, Vincent. Nice to meet you." Helena said. Vincent nodded and turned around.

"Follow me." he said.

Gabriella had a weird feeling about this. She was nervous, like she was going to stay with total strangers. She's seen Ryan and Sharpay's parents before, but she never had the chance to actually talk to them. She heard from Troy that they were pretty nice people.

As soon as the two entered the house, they couldn't help but notice how huge it was. It looked like a Greek temple with modern furniture, it was so elegant and beautiful.

"Good morning! I'm sorry to keep you two waiting, I had an imporant phone call." a blonde woman with short hair and blue eyes, exactly like Ryan's, came down the marble staircase with a big smile. She looked really nice.

"Oh it's no problem." Helena smiled. "Nice to see you, Marvelle." she smiled.

_Marvelle? What an unusual name, _Gabriella thought. She smiled nontheless.

"Please, come into the living room." Marvelle said and showed them to the living room.

Gabriella and Helena sat down on the red couch, while Marvelle took a seat on the cream colored armchair.

"It's a pleasure to have you here, Gabriella. I've heard quite a lot about you." Marvelle said. Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you for having me over, Mrs. Evans."

"Oh, you can call me Marvelle. Or if that sounds too long for you, you can call me Ma." Marvelle smiled.

"Thank you, Ma." Gabriella smiled.

"And I want to thank you and your husband again, Marvelle, for having my daughter over." Helena said. "It'd be really horrible for Gabi to spend the holidays helping me taking care of her grandmother."

"It's no problem." Marvelle smiled. "She can come anytime. Anyone who's friends with Ryan and Sharpay are my friends too."

Gabriella smiled, instead of just saying she wasn't friends with Sharpay. She made a promise to herself that she wasn't going to have an argument with Sharpay, so she wouldn't be kicked out of the house.

"Well, to be honest, Sharpay did tell me that you two had your differences, but I'm hoping these Holidays, you will become friends." Marvelle said. "My poor baby girl has no friends, she's always upset."

"Oh." Gabriella said. It wasn't a surprise that Sharpay had no friends, but a very small part of her felt bad because everybody should have friends.

"I'm sure we will be able to work it you." Gabriella smiled.

"Oh good." Marvelle smiled.

"Well girls. I'm going, I'm having lunch with Aunt Tally." Helena said.

"Tell her I sent her a kiss." Gabriella said. "And a hug."

"I will." Helena said. "She's coming with me to Spain."

"Oh good, at least you won't be alone." Gabriella said.

Helena smiled and stood up

"I'll walk you to the door." Marvelle said. She and Gabriella walked Helena to the door. Gabriella gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek and Helena was gone. Gabriella watched her car go and sighed.

"I think Vincent already put your stuff in the guest room, let me show where it is." Marvelle said. Gabriella followed her up the stairs and found that upstairs looked even bigger. The halls were huge, it looked like a hotel, really.

Marvelle led Gabriella to probably the fourth or fifth door on the right, right into front of a pink door with a star on it and the cursive letters SE printed on it. Gabriella immediately knew it was Sharpay's room.

"As you can see, Sharpay is right across the hall, so you can knock on the door anytime if you need something. And if you need me or Robert, our door is the last one down the hall." Marvelle said, pointing the white door.

"Okay, thank you, Ma." Gabriella smiled.

"You're welcome sweetie. I would suggest not to unpack your stuff, because we're going to Colorado tomorrow." Marvelle said.

"Okay." Gabriella nodded. "Oh, Ma, I almost forgot. I think I'm gonna run to the mall after lunch so I'm just warning."

"Okay, you can ask Sharpay or Ryan if they want to company you. Ryan is in his Yoga class and Sharpay is inside her room." Marvelle said. "Lunch will be ready in about an hour. Feel free to explore the house as you like, _nuestra casa es su casa._" Marvelle smiled.

"You speak Spanish?" Gabriella asked. "_Muy bien._"

"Yeah, I speak Spanish quite fruently." Marvelle said. Gabriella wished she could be friends with this woman, she was so nice. "Robert will be here before lunch and he surely will greet you. You can go for a walk outside."

"Oh, alright." Gabriella said.

"Okay, I'll be upstairs if you need me." Marvelle said.

"Okay, thank you so much, Ma. _Muchas gracias._" Gabriella smiled. Marvelle smiled back and walked towards her room.

Gabriella sighed, looking around then she made her way downstairs and found the glass doors leading out to the huge backyard. She found out the Evans had an outdoor pool as well as an indoor pool. As soon as she stepped outside, she felt a small creature smelling her feet and she looked down to see Boi wearing a sparkly pink sweater. When she looked down he looked up at her and barked, wagging his tail.

"Oh hello, cutie!" she said. She bent down and caressed his ears. "What are you doing out here, it's cold."

Boi barked once more and sat down in front of Gabriella. He took a step on the direction she was going and looked back at her, as if he was asking her to follow him.

"Okay." Gabriella said and followed Boi out to the garden. She found a pink swing set under a beautiful big tree house, more beautiful and bigger than Troy's tree house.

Boi sat under it, beside one of the swings and tilted his head to the left.

"You're such a cute dog." Gabriella smiled and sat down on the swing. Boi looked at her with puppy dog eyes and she picked him up, placing him on her lap. "Do you think these holidays are gonna suck big time?"

Boi barked and wagged his tail as if to cheer her up. Gabriella smiled.

"Thanks Boi." she said. "Well at least I can stay with you for a while before Ryan comes over. Is he gonna take long?"

Boi didn't do anything, he just stared at her with his tongue out.

"Well, Baby Boi, I think these two weeks are gonna be _long_." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"Boi!" they both heard a girly yell from inside the house. Boi laid down on Gabriella's lap and put his little hands under his two paws, as if he was trying to hide.

"Oh, you can't stand her sometimes either." Gabriella giggled.

"Boi! Come here Boi!" Sharpay continued to yell.

Gabriella sighed and heard her opening the glass doors. She spotted them under the tree house and walked over there.

"Boi, what are you doing here, come on!" she said, waiting for Boi to jump out of Gabriella's lap and come to her side. "Boi?"

Boi looked up at his owner and didn't move.

"Oh please, don't tell me you're choosing _her _over me!" Sharpay said dramatically. "First Ms. Darbus, then Troy, then my own twin and now _you_! You're my dog!" she said desperately. Gabriella chuckled lightly seeing Sharpay seemed to think Boi actually understood her.

Sharpay sighed in defeat.

"What are you chucking at?" Sharpay asked.

"Sorry, I just thought it was funny that you thought he was going to understand all you've said." Gabriella explained.

"Well, I can give it a shot." Sharpay said and picked Boi up from Gabriella's lap. "Listen here, I know you will be spending the Holidays with our family but let's make something clear; we're not friends and never will be. I know my mom wants us to be friends but that's not gonna happen, okay? So you stay out of my way, alright?"

"Nice to see you too, Sharpay." Gabriella smiled sarcastically.

"Hey stop being Ms. Smarty Pants." Sharpay said. "You're gonna hang out with Ryan and we're gonna stay out of each other's ways, okay?"

"That was my plan the whole time." Gabriella said. "I had plans with Tay, I didn't want to be anywhere near you. But listen, your mom told me how you didn't have any friends and I know we have our differences and all but we can be friends."

Sharpay rolled her eyes dramatically.

"After all, we _are _gonna spend a big amount of time together." Gabriella said. "It won't hurt you to be friends with me."

Sharpay stared down at her and Gabriella wasn't sure what Sharpay was thinking. If she was considering her offer or if she wasn't listening at all.

"It's gonna be fun." Gabriella said.

"We'll see." was all Sharpay said before turning around and going back inside the house.

Gabriella sighed as she watched the blonde leave.

"Yep. The Holidays are gonna be long." she said to no one in particular as she looked around.

* * *

Well, this is just an idea that popped into my head. I've wanted to write a Gabpay story during the Holidays, I thought it was going to be romantic and I wanted to have more Gabpay stories. I hope you like this!


	2. First Day, Not So Good

Chapter 2 – First Day, Not So Good

About an hour later, Gabriella was still sitting outside on the swing, looking around. She really didn't care if it was cold, she loved the outdoors. She heard from Marvelle that Robert and Ryan would be getting home soon so they'd have lunch. She actually wasn't that hungry, she was just worried that she had to spend two whole weeks with Sharpay.

"Hey Gabs!" she heard Ryan's voice and she immediately looked up. She got up and ran to give him a big hug. Ryan laughed when Gabriella hugged him tightly. "Wow, someone was bored to death out here!"

"Oh I was okay, Boi was keeping me company, but then Sharpay came and took him away so I'm here by myself." Gabriella said.

"Why didn't you go outside and watch some TV?" Ryan asked. "You know this is a free country and no one was gonna bite your head off in there."

"I know, but I like to stay outdoors." Gabriella said. "This house is so cool."

"Thanks." Ryan smiled. "Well come in, you're probably freezing out here."

"No, I'm fine." she said as she followed Ryan into the house, where it was way warmer.

The two made their way upstairs to the movies room, a place Gabriella hadn't been into yet and she was amazed by the size. It looked like a real movie room, only smaller.

"Want to watch a movie?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan! Gabi!" they heard Marvelle calling them.

"I think lunch is ready." Ryan smiled.

Gabriella smiled and the two made their way downstairs to the dining room. Robert sat in front of his wife, Ryan sat beside his father, and Sharpay sat beside her mother. Gabriella didn't know where to sit, so she just took a seat beside Ryan. They said grace and started having lunch. Marvelle was pretty excited about having a friend of her son and daughter's in her house.

"Shar, Ry, you two must be thrilled to know your friend is going on the trip with us." she commented.

"Oh yeah, it's very nice to bring one of their friends to our cabin." Robert smiled.

"I'm very happy." Ryan said. Marvelle knew Sharpay wasn't very fond of Gabriella, but she heard from Ryan that she was a very sweet girl, and she wished she and her daughter could become friends.

"I can't wait to get there and decorate the cabin!" Marvelle said.

"Me too!" Ryan said. "With Gabi it's gonna be so much fun!"

Gabriella giggled at the family's excitement. Normally her mother was like this, but it was gonna be nice for her to spend Christmas with another family for the first time.

"Shar, princess, why aren't you excited? Christmas is your favorite time of the year, you love to decorate the house, you usually talk about this more than anybody else." Robert said, looking at his daughter, who hadn't said a word since she came down to lunch.

Sharpay looked up at her father and faked a smile.

"I'm excited Daddy, I just have a small headache." she said.

"Are you alright? Do you need a pill?" Marvelle asked.

"No, mother, I'm fine." Sharpay said and looked back down at her food. "I need to feed Boi." she remembered. "Boi, I'm gonna finish eating then-" she looked down to the ground next to her feet, expecting to see the Yorkie there, but she didn't see it. She frowned. "Boi?" she looked around the table.

"He's over here playing with Gabi." Ryan said and smiled at the sight of Gabriella playing with his sister's dog.

"He seems to love you." Robert said.

"I found him outside about an hour ago." Gabriella said. "What were you doing out there, Baby Boi?"

Sharpay watched the scene and felt anger building up inside her. She hated that brunette girl more than anyone and there was no way she was gonna live with her for the next 2 weeks. She had already stolen her dog now she was playing the perfect daughter, wining everyone's heart.

"I am no longer hungry." Sharpay said, trying to hide the anger in her voice the best she could and stood up, getting everybody's attention. She walked out of the dining room and went upstairs to her bedroom.

"What's up with her?" Marvelle asked.

"Oh you know her, mom, she's probably jealous because there's someone else in the house getting everybody's attention." Ryan said.

"Oh that's nonsense, I'll talk to her later." Marvelle said.

Gabriella sighed as she continued to eat her lunch. Except for Sharpay, she was actually enjoying her first hours with the Evans, they were very nice people. She could do nothing but wonder how Sharpay turned out to be such a bad person, surrounded by so nice people.

"Alright, you kids stay here and enjoy dessert, I'm gonna go talk to the angry princess upstairs." Marvelle said and made her way upstairs.

"Okay. We have Häagen-Dasz for dessert. Gabi what flavor would you like?" Robert asked. "We have caramel, strawberry, vanilla and strawberry cheesecake. You can also have all of them if you want."

"Oh, then I'd want all of them." Gabriella smiled.

"Okay, I'll go get it."

"I'll help you." Gabriella stood up and followed Robert to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Marvelle knocked on the door of her daughter's room and didn't get an answer. She turned the doorknob and walked in to see her daughter sitting on the bed with an angry look on her face, staring at the ground.

"Kitten, what's wrong? I thought you were friends with Gabriella."

"Mom, I'm _not_ friends with her and never will be! She stole my show!" Sharpay said. "And now my own _dog_ chooses her over me!"

"Sharpay, don't be so negative! That girl is very sweet!" Marvelle said.

"She's not sweet, she's a freaky math girl and I want her out of my house!" Sharpay said. "I'm not spending the Holidays with her!"

"Sharpay Evans!" Marvelle said angrily. "You won't speak like that about the guests as long as you live under my roof! If you said anything like that to her, I want you to apologize to her right now!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes angrily.

"Come down and apologize to her." Marvelle said. "And I expect you to be nice to her, and _truly_ nice, during these two weeks."

"But mom-"

"Kitten, I know you're a nice person and I know why you keep yourself locked behind those walls, but Gabi is a nice girl. You can open up to her. I know you're scared because of what happened in 8th grade, but I can assure you, Gabi won't hurt you." Marvelle said, approaching her daughter. "Trust me, sweetie, you can be real to her."

Sharpay looked at her mother for a few minutes, unsure. She knew her mother knew her too well, Marvelle just wanted to see her happy again, and she had the feeling that Gabriella could make her daughter happy again.

** .**

After dessert, Gabriella helped Robert and Ryan clear the table and then she had nothing else to do. Ryan asked her if she wanted to watch a movie, but then she remembered she had to go shopping to buy the Evans their gifts. It was the least she could do since they let her stay with them during the holidays.

"Ryan, I have to go shopping, would you like to go with me?" Gabriella asked as they entered the movies room.

"Sure." Ryan said. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you have to go shopping for so suddenly?" he asked, concerned.

"Umm... I kinda wanted to buy Christmas gifts for you and your family." Gabriella said, blushing. Ryan smiled at this.

"You don't need to buy us anything, having you here with us is what matters the most to us." Ryan said.

"Oh please! You guys are being so nice to me, I want to do this as a thank you for letting me stay and besides, it's Christmas." Gabriella said, giggling. "I was hoping you could come and help me choose the gifts, because you know what your parents will like."

"Yeah, sure." Ryan said. "Let's go."

Gabriella smiled and she and Ryan went downstairs. They put on their coats and were out of the house. Ryan looked between the cars and then turned to Gabriella.

"Let's take the BMW." he said.

"Which one?" Gabriella asked. He turned to her with a look.

"The convertible. I was kinda hoping we could freeze to death on our way to the mall." he said. Gabriella glared at him.

"You know what, why don't we just go?" she said, going towards the silver BMW.

On their way to the mall, they went talking and laughing and having fun. Gabriella could say that Ryan was a very good friend and one of her best male friends.

Ryan helped her pick up a golden necklace for his mother and a blue polo shirt for his father. When she asked what he wanted, he didn't know what to say he said she didn't need to get him anything, but she insisted and he said he'd like a hat.

"You're so predictable, Ryan." she said, giggling and shaking her head. He smiled and shrugged.

Gabriella bought a blue fedora for him and then she was walking around, looking for a gift for Sharpay. She hated the blonde girl, but she knew she'd have to buy something for her.

"You've got everything, why are we still standing here?" Ryan asked. He noticed Gabriella looking at a pink picture frame, looking deep in thought but he didn't say anything.

"I didn't buy anything for your sister." she answered simply.

"Oh." Ryan said. He thought she wouldn't buy anything for her, Sharpay was not a nice person to her and they practically hated each other. "Really? You'd buy a gift for her?"

"Yeah." Gabriella said, stepping away and going towards another store.

"But I thought you guys hated each other and that you wouldn't buy her anything." Ryan said.

"Well, what will she say when she sees I bought you all gifts and didn't buy her anything? She's gonna hate me even more, thinking I'm stealing her family or something." Gabriella said.

"Wow. You really are a nice girl." Ryan said. "I wish Sharpay wouldn't treat you like trash. She needs friends."

"We all do. And I was hoping that after she got my gift we would be friends." Gabriella said. "I don't see that happening, though."

Ryan sighed.

"So, do you know what your sister would like?" Gabriella asked, looking up at him.

"Well, I think I don't even need to tell you that she likes pink." Ryan said. "Besides that, she likes to take pictures of herself and admire them."

"Well, that helps, what am I gonna get her? A pink picture of herself? Ask her to dress in pink so I can take a picture of her?" Gabriella asked. Ryan giggled.

"You shouldn't put too much thought into it." Ryan said. "She's your classmate not your boyfriend."

"Yeah, I know, you're right. I just..." Gabriella sighed. "I wanted her to see through my gift that I am not the bad girl she thinks I am."

"Believe me, you could buy her Chanel purses for a year and she wouldn't change her opinion. She's stubborn as hell." Ryan said.

Gabriella laughed.

"Alright, if you won't help me you can go to the food court and I'll meet you there. I'll think of something." Gabriella said, putting both hands on his chest and pushing him back.

"Okay, I think this would be the best for both of us. All I'd do is talk about my sister behind her back, so." Ryan said. "I'll meet you there."

"Okay." Gabriella nodded. He turned around and went off to the food court.

Gabriella laughed, shaking her hand. She didn't know why she didn't hang out with Ryan more often. Man, it was pretty hard to believe he was Sharpay's twin, he was all she wasn't; he was nice, funny, smarter than she'd thought, and he was incredibly talented when it came to dancing, because besides moving like no other boy could, he wasn't as selfish and he didn't think he was so great, like Sharpay did.

Gabriella looked through a lot of stores, but couldn't find anything she thought Sharpay would like. Nothing she saw screamed 'Sharpay', so she just sighed and gave up. All she bought was a golden necklace with a microphone and the word 'DIVA'. That was the closest thing to Sharpay's personality Gabriella could find.

She met with Ryan on the food court, he was sitting, looking around like an autistic kid. She laughed and called him, saying she was ready to go. They stopped by a Starbucks before heading out to the car. Ryan got his sister a Skinny Mocha with nonfat milk and then headed home.

**.**

"I think Olivier is making some snacks, I can't wait." Ryan said as they entered the house. They put their coats in the coat closet and went upstairs.

"Who's Olivier?" Gabriella asked, confused.

"Our cook. You said 'hi' to him when you put your plate in the sink." Ryan said.

"Oh! He's a very nice guy, and lunch was amazing!" Gabriella said.

"Wait until you taste his brownies. They're not as good as your mother's, but they're still good." Ryan said. He leaned on the doorframe as Gabriella entered her room to place the bags down.

"I _knew_ you loved my mom's brownies. You should try her pancakes." Gabriella said.

Ryan smiled. Gabriella sighed and turned to him.

"Ryan, can I ask you something? And please, don't take this the wrong way, okay?"

"Sure." Ryan said.

"How come you and your parents are so wonderful and your sister is so..." Gabriella thought of the right word to describe Sharpay to her brother, knowing she couldn't say any bad words. Not that she did, but still.

"So not nice? Self-centered? Spoiled? Mean?" Ryan asked. "Willing-to-hurt-her-brother-so-she-can-have-the-lead-in-any-play kind of girl?"

"Well... yeah." Gabriella said, shrugging. She felt bed whenever she talked about people behind their back, she hated to do it, but she couldn't help but wonder. "You and your parents are so nice, you showed you could be someone nicer than I thought you were, but she didn't. She's still the same mean, bad person I thought she was."

Ryan looked down and was about to respond, when they heard Sharpay open her bedroom door and walk out, with Boi following her happily.

Ryan watched her go and turned to Gabriella. They heard her going down the marble staircase until they couldn't hear her anymore.

"Do you think she heard that?" Gabriella asked. He shrugged.

"Listen, what my sister doesn't understand is that she doesn't need all that. She's the way she is because she doesn't want people to hurt her and she thinks you of all people would hurt her badly. And you kinda did, according to her. But I know this isn't about Troy or the show." Ryan said. "It's more complicated than that."

Gabriella sighed and nodded.

"Speaking of her, I have to give her the Skinny Mocha!" Ryan remembered, looking at the hot drink in his hand. "Then we could watch a movie."

"Sure, which one?" Gabriella asked. "Could it be a... horror movie?"

Ryan looked up at her immediately.

"You like horror movies?"

"Please, they're my favorite." Gabriella said.

"That's awesome! Which one do you wanna watch? We have, _Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th, Silent Hill, Case 39, Nightmare On Elm Street, Freddy vs. Jason_..." Ryan said, thinking.

"Oh, I love all of them! Freddy Kruegger is my favorite character!" Gabriella said excitedly. "Could we watch_ Nightmare On Elm Street_?"

"Sure. The DVD is in my sister's room. Someone has to go down there and give this to her and maybe invite her to watch the movie with us while the other goes into her room to grab the DVD." Ryan said.

"I think you should talk to her, your her brother." Gabriella said. "Where's the DVD?"

"You'll see it, it's in a big pink shelf filled with other DVD's." Ryan said. "It's easy to find. I'll go straight to the movies room, alright?"

"Okay." Gabriella nodded. Ryan smiled and headed downstairs.

Gabriella looked at Sharpay's open door and took a big breath. She entered and looked around. The room was all pink and it was _huge_. Sharpay's king sized bed had to be the biggest bed Gabriella's ever seen. She had a big poster of herself on the wall on top of her bed and a huge walk-in closet, as well as a walk-in shoe closet, which made Gabriella gasp.

She shook her head and quickly focused. She looked for the pink shelf filled with DVD's. Her eyes seemed to shine brightly as she approached it. She looked for the DVD she wanted to watch, trying to remember it herself, when she heard the door close, then someone gasping behind her. Her eyes widened and she turned around to see Sharpay looked really mad, with both hands on her hips.

"What do you think you're doing in my bedroom?" she asked. Gabriella thought Sharpay was going to kill her.

"Ryan and I wanted to watch a movie and he asked me to get it." Gabriella said.

Sharpay placed her Skinny Mocha on her dresser and turned back to Gabriella. She walked closer to her, fuming.

"Don't you think it's enough that you're stealing my family's attention?" She asked. "Aren't you graceful that we're letting you stay here during the Holidays? Do you have to come inside my room without knocking going through my private things?!" Sharpay was talking louder in each question. Gabriella was actually terrified right now. "Who do you think you are?! First you come and steal the lead in my show and make my brother choose you Wildcats over me, his twin?!" Sharpay was screaming now and there were veins popping out of her forehead and neck. She looked really red too.

Gabriella didn't know what to say, she was just staring at Sharpay, sure she was going to cry any second now. She hated being vulnerable and she sure didn't want Sharpay to see her cry.

Sharpay grabbed _Nightmare On Elm Street_ and turned to Gabriella.

"Here's the _stupid_ DVD!" she threw it at Gabriella with all her might. The DVD case hit Gabriella in the face, cutting her cheek, making the brunette gasp in pain and fall to the ground. "Now get out of here! I can't wait to graduate and go away from you, _forever_! You're nothing special, it's no wonder your mother and father flew off somewhere and left you with us! They're probably in their second honeymoon, wishing they never had you!"

Gabriella wasn't even looking at Sharpay right now. She didn't have the strength to. All she wanted to do right now was scream back at her what really happened to her father and say everything she thought about Sharpay.

Gabriella then noticed Sharpay had stopped talking and looked up at the blonde. She considered responding to her, continuing the argument Sharpay was practically begging for, but she chose not to, she wanted to be the bigger girl.

"I'm sorry I came in, that won't happen anymore." was all Gabriella managed to say. She was trembling, her eyes were filled with tears and her knees were numb. Her voice cracked and she didn't even try to hide it. "I am so sorry, I won't stay in your way anymore." she placed the DVD on Sharpay's dressed and turned around. She opened the door slowly and got out. She closed the door and shut her eyes very hard, feeling the hot tears sliding down her cheek.

"Gabi!" she heard Ryan's very worried voice. He ran down the hall towards the brunette, who took a step towards him but fell on her knees right away, sobbing almost hysterically. "Gabriella, are you okay? What happened to your cheek?"

Ryan knelt down to her level and watched as she cried. He looked up from where he knew she had come and saw Sharpay closing the door to her bedroom. He knew his sister had done something, but he didn't know what could've been so bad to make Gabriella cry like this. He stood up and opened the door, in time to see his parents coming from their bedroom, looking really angry.

"What?" Sharpay asked, angrily as she opened the door.

"Sharpay, _what_ did you do?" Marvelle asked.

"I didn't do anything!" Sharpay said.

"_Really_! Because our guest is in tears right now, crying like there is no tomorrow and you did _nothing_!" Robert said.

"Look, _she_ came to _my_ house when I wanted nothing to do with her! Then I walk inside my room and find her looking through my stuff!" Sharpay said.

"She was looking for a DVD! I asked her to because we were going to watch a movie!" Ryan said.

"Look, I understand her mother had to go God-knows-where and she had nowhere else to go, but couldn't her father stay with her?!" Sharpay said. "Did he _have_ to go with her mom to their second honeymoon and leave their daughter with us?!"

"My father is DEAD!" it was Gabriella's turn to scream. And she screamed at the top of her lungs, louder than Sharpay was screaming earlier. "He died trying to protect me!" she said and breathed loud, while the whole family looked at her. "I was only 7... we were going out to lunch and he... a man was running around inside the restaurant and he was shooting everybody. My dad pushed me out of the way and he got shot twice on the head. I hit my head on the curb and passed out." Gabriella said and stood up. "THAT'S why he can't spend Christmas with me or with my mom! That's why I'm here in your castle, princess!" she said, looking at Sharpay with so much anger she thought she would never feel. "You know what, I hope you get hurt. I hope you find someone you love and that that person hurts you, rips your heart right out. I even hope you're left with _nothing_, so you can feel what it's like to have _nothing_! Because that's what you deserve!" she screamed at Sharpay's face and stormed to her room, slamming the door closed. She threw herself on the bed and curled up in a ball, sobbing again.

* * *

_Here it is! Well, my computer decided not to open my original story, so I had to start from scratch. I had two new chapters ready, and the one I've written that was supposed to be the second chapter was different, without too much drama, but like I said, my computer went nuts. Well, there's nothing like some drama to spice the story up a little ;) anyway, I hope you like it!_


	3. Colorado Here We Go!

Chapter 3 - Colorado, Here We Go!

After the huge argument between Gabriella and Sharpay, the family practically never spoke. None of the girls showed up to dinner, which made Marvelle and Robert feel terrible. Ryan was trying to get Gabriella to talk to him, but it was no avail, she wouldn't even answer him.

Marvelle and Robert had a very serious talk with Sharpay. After they left, she didn't make any more sound to let them know she was alive in there. Her parents didn't mind though, because they knew she deserved to be quiet and locked up inside her room. Ryan sighed, walking upstairs after dinner, heading to Gabriella's room. He knocked on the door three times and he didn't exactly expect her to answer, but she did, for the first time.

He had a bowl of strawberry cheesecake and caramel Häagen-Dasz for her, wishing she'd take them.

"Come in." he heard and sighed. He turned the doorknob and walked in, to find her with puffy, red eyes, looking at the ground.

"Hey. I brought you ice cream." he said. He got close to her and gave her the bowl. She stared at it for a few seconds, before bringing a spoonful to her mouth. "I'm so sorry about what my sister said to you, I didn't know she was going to do something like that."

"You were right earlier. She's not worth buying a gift, I shouldn't have spent my money on that stupid necklace." Gabriella said. "She's the worst person I've ever met."

Ryan sighed.

"And I'm sorry about your dad." Ryan said. "I didn't know what happened to him."

"It's one of the most horrible memories I have." Gabriella said, looking up at him. "And now, for sure, this will add up to the list."

"I'm sorry, Gabi." Ryan said.

Gabriella shook her head as she ate her ice cream.

"I want nothing more than to catch a flight and go off to Spain to meet my mom." Gabriella said.

"You know, you can do it if you want to. I know you don't feel comfortable here, and we wouldn't blame you if you went." Ryan said.

"I don't know." Gabriella said. "Your sister is the only one who has a problem with me, you, your mother and your father are so wonderful to me."

Ryan smiled.

"We'll make sure Sharpay doesn't hurt you again, okay?" Ryan asked.

"Okay." Gabriella said, letting out a deep breath.

"My parents and her had a big talk, she's got an earful from them, so I won't go in there. I don't exactly know if you should expect her to come and apologize at this point." Ryan said. "She went crazy, I didn't know she'd actually do something like that."

"Me neither." Gabriella said.

"We still have leftovers from dinner if you want." Ryan said.

"I'm not hungry." Gabriella said. "But it was very smart of you to offer me some dinner after you gave me a Häagen-Dasz."

Ryan chuckled.

"Well, it's there. If you want, just heat it up." He said.

"Alright Ryan, thank you." She smiled.

"You're welcome. You better get some sleep, we're waking up early tomorrow." He smiled. "By the way, we're going in 2 different cars. Shar and I are going in the Lamborghini, the plans were for you to come with us, but we'll understand if you don't want to."

"No, that's okay." Gabriella said. "Me and your parents won't have much to talk about anyways."

"Okay. Shar's gonna drive so I can go with you in the back." Ryan said.

"Okay, we'll have fun." Gabriella smiled.

"Yes. Well, I'm gonna leave you so you can take a shower and get ready to go to bed." Ryan said with a smile. "Goodnight."

"Night." Gabriella smiled.

Ryan smiled and left, closing the door after himself.

Gabriella sighed. She took a shower, put on her pj's and brushed her teeth. She looked at the empty bowl of ice cream and sighed, knowing she'd have to take it down. She grabbed it and walked outside of her room. She went downstairs to the kitchen, almost praying she wouldn't find Sharpay in there. She was lucky the kitchen was empty.

Gabriella put the bowl inside the dishwasher and went back upstairs. She closed the door to her bedroom and went under the comfy covers. She closed her eyes and easily drifted off to sleep.

**. **

The next day, the family woke up early in the morning. Gabriella woke up by Ryan calling her. The two went down for breakfast. Marvelle and Robert were already there. The breakfast was pretty huge; they were having waffles, pancakes, eggs and bacon and fruits. It looked like they were feeding the population from Africa.

Gabriela giggled and took her seat beside Ryan on the table.

"Wow, this breakfast looks pretty big." She said.

"We made some extras, since you and Sharpay hadn't had dinner last night and we thought you might be hungry." Marvelle said.

"And besides, Ryan here eats like he's never seen food in breakfast." Robert said. Ryan glared at his father while the family laughed.

"Ryan, did you wake your sister?" Marvelle asked after the laughter subsided.

"Ummm, I knocked on her door and called her, I don't know if she heard me." Ryan said.

As if on cue, Sharpay came down the stairs and into the kitchen. She looked like she hadn't slept in years. She looked like a real zombie, which made the whole family stay quiet.

"Good morning, Shar." Marvelle said.

Sharpay didn't answer, she just took her seat in front of her brother and grabbed an apple.

"Princess, don't you have something to say to Gabriella?" Robert said. Sharpay looked up at Gabriella.

"I'm sorry about what I said last night." She said then looked back down at her apple.

Gabriella didn't know whether to believe that or not, because by Sharpay's face, it looked like she didn't mean it at all, but looking deep into her eyes, there was a small part of her that seemed to be telling the truth. And she didn't know if she wanted to apologize to her either.

The rest of breakfast went by without any important conversations, except this time Sharpay wasn't showing much anger like last night, she was just quiet.

After breakfast they all got ready, got their things and went to the garage to get to the cars.

Ryan opened the trunk and started putting the luggage in. He grabbed Gabriella's luggage and put it in and saw her looking at him with a weird look.

"I thought we were going in a separate car." She said.

"We are, the bags go in here." Ryan explained. "Come in." he opened the door of the car they were going in for her. She smiled and got in.

"Gabs, I think I'm gonna go in the passenger seat for a while to make my sister company. You can take a nap if you want."

"Sure, that's good. I didn't sleep very well last night anyways." Gabriella said. Sharpay got in and started the car. She drove off right after Marvelle and Robert.

Soon, Gabriella got comfortable and fell asleep.

Ryan noticed she got unusually quiet and looked back to see her asleep. He smiled and sighed, then turned to look at his sister. She looked concentrated on the road, but he knew she was thinking about something else.

"Why did you say all those things to her last night?" Ryan asked. "This doesn't sound like you."

"I'm sorry! I saw her in my room and… someone's room is like their heart, you can find anyone's secrets and fears inside and she was inside my heart for a moment. I was afraid she was going to go through my stuff and…" Sharpay stopped with a heavy sigh.

"And find out your secret?" he finished for her, knowing her worries. She closed her eyes for a quick moment and sighed.

"Yes." She said.

"Shar, I know you're afraid someone might hurt you; I know you're scared of opening up to someone because that person may leave you and what happened when we were 14 will repeat. I know you don't want to go through that pain again, but I can assure you: Gabriela won't hurt you like those stupid people did, she's a nice girl." Ryan said. "I know she can keep your secret if you tell her. Give her a chance, you may be surprised."

Sharpay looked at Gabriella through the review mirror and smiled a small smiled as she watched her sleep. She looked peaceful, she didn't look like someone who'd purposely hurt her.

"Fine." She sighed. "I will. I will give her a proper apology and I'll talk to her and give her a chance."

"That's all she needs. And I assure you she's not gonna hurt you." Ryan said. Sharpay sighed as she looked at the road, thinking about her brother's words.

"You better be right."

"I _am_ right. If you're nice to her, you're gonna not only have fun during the Holidays, your favorite time of the year, but you'll also make a friend! It's better than spend these two weeks locked up in your room angry, envying Gabriella, which I'm sure you fake." Ryan said. Sharpay shrugged.

"I just don't want to get hurt again, that's all." Sharpay said in a quiet voice. "But don't worry, I'll talk to her."

Ryan smiled and looked back at the road ahead of them. He and his sister didn't speak again, until she asked him to drive so she could take a nap. They stopped at a gas station, bought some snacks and Sharpay and Ryan got out of the car so they could switch places. Sharpay even considered going to the backseat so she could sleep more comfortably, but she thought that if Gabriella woke up, she'd probably cut her head off.

** .**

Ryan was driving quietly, listening to the radio while the girls were asleep. He looked at his sister; she looked so peaceful, like someone who would never say those things she said the previous night. He sighed. He then looked at Gabriella through the review mirror and thought about all the things she must've heard from his sister and he felt sorry. He knew his sister didn't want to get hurt, but she didn't need to do that.

Ryan was still looking at Gabriella through the review mirror when suddenly, the radio got very loud and made everybody in the car jump. Ryan turned off the radio and sighed, feeling his ears scream 'halleluiah'. He looked at his sister and she was rubbing her eyes.

"Gee, thanks Ryan, I always love to wake up having a heart attack." Gabriella said.

"Sorry." Ryan said.

"Where are we, anyway?" Sharpay asked.

"30 more minutes. Hey sis, wanna drive so I can go with Gabi on the back?" Ryan said as he saw a gas station getting closer.

"Do I have to answer?" Sharpay asked. Ryan glared at her.

"Just do it." He said.

Sharpay rolled her eyes, but when he stopped at the gas station she switched places with him. Ryan sat beside Gabriella and smiled at her, she looked tired.

"Hey there, sleepyhead. I haven't heard from you the whole trip." Ryan said.

"Yeah, I was sleepy, I didn't sleep well last night, I kept thinking about my father." Gabriella said, looking down at her hands. "And now I can't sleep again, thanks to you."

"Sorry." Ryan said. Gabriella looked out the window and saw snow covering almost every inch of the ground and the roofs of the houses.

"Wow, it looks cold outside." She said.

"Yeah. I can't wait to get in the cabin, lit the fire and stay all day there." Ryan said.

"Weren't you guys going snowboarding?" Gabriella asked.

"It's skiing. And not today, my parents probably want to get some rest." Ryan said. "We'll probably make hot coffee or chocolate."

"Ooh, I can make my Gabiccino!" Gabriella said excitedly while she clapped her hands together. Ryan laughed and even Sharpay had to giggle at this.

"What's this?" Ryan asked.

"It's a drink I made up and put my name on it." Gabriella said. "I know how to make delicious pancakes also. You will be drooling all over the house."

"I can't wait." Ryan said.

After a few more minutes of driving, they got in the cabin. It was huge, but smaller than their mansion. It felt like Gabriella was in a movie.

Marvelle and Robert were already there and by the looks of it they had put everything in their places and now they were putting the food in the fridge and cabinets.

"Hey mom, hey dad." Ryan said with a smile.

"Hello guys! How was your trip?" Marvelle asked.

"Fine, until Ryan gave us a heart attack." Sharpay said. Marvelle laughed; her real daughter was back.

"How was that?" she asked.

"We were sleeping and he turned on the radio the highest it could go." Sharpay said. Marvelle and Robert laughed.

"Well Gabi, I already put your luggage in your room." Marvelle said and turned to her kids. "One of you can show her, while the other one can help your dad light the fire."

"I think Ryan's gonna be helping dad. I can show the room to Gabriella." Sharpay said. For a moment, Gabriella was surprised, she even turned to look at the girl with shock written all over her face, but apparently, the rest of the family seemed not to feel the same way.

"Yeah, that seems fair." Ryan said. "Shar would put fire on the house anyway." He said to Gabriella while he went to the living room.

"Shut up!" Sharpay said then turned to Gabriella. "This way."

Gabriella watched her go, still shocked. Sharpay went to the staircase and turned to see Gabriella still on the same spot, with the same face.

"Come on." She said. Gabriella slowly followed her, suspicious. She was careful now not to let Sharpay's words hurt her again.

They went upstairs and it was still huge. It looked like the typical winter cabin, all wooden and comfy. The snow outside made it even more perfect. Sharpay led Gabriella to the fifth door to her right, to reveal a very spacious cream colored room with a king sized bed with a round lamp on top. It had its own bathroom, which was also very big.

"I hope it's to your liking." Sharpay said.

"I love it, this is amazing!" Gabriella said. Sharpay smiled and looked at the ground as Gabriella entered the room and grabbed her luggage, putting it on the floor, then opening it.

"Gabriella?" Sharpay asked, making the brunette look up at her. "Can I… talk to you?"

"You're gonna insult me some more?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay felt bad for saying all those things to her.

"No." she said. "Actually, I wanted to apologize to you. Properly." Gabriella just kept staring at her. "Listen," Sharpay came in and closed the door. "I didn't mean a thing I said to you last night."

"Then why did you say them?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay sighed.

"Since our fight last summer I saw you were the only one who could make me show my vulnerable side and I didn't like that. When I heard you were going to spend two weeks with us, I wanted you to go away so you wouldn't find out my secret. Then I found you in my room and I thought you would have gone through my things and you've found out about me, so I said those things to scare you, to send you away, so you'd know what I could do if you ever told anyone." Sharpay said. "That girl that told you all those things wasn't the real me. I'm ashamed and embarrassed I'd say something like that to you, you didn't deserve it."

"All this so I wouldn't find out your 'secret'?" Gabriella asked.

"I was afraid you'd hurt me. I was afraid that the 8th grade incident would happen all over again." Sharpay said. "I can't bear to go through all of this again."

"But if you're afraid I'm gonna find out this secret of yours and hurt you… why are you telling me all this?" Gabriella asked.

"Ryan and I talked while you were asleep and he assured me you weren't the kind of girl who'd hurt someone on purpose." Sharpay said. "I just want to say I'm sorry, you didn't deserve anything I said. I deserved everything you said. I'm sorry about your dad too, I can't… imagine what life can be without a dad." She sighed. "I understand if you don't accept my apologies, I don't deserve them after all." Sharpay sighed, seeing Gabriella hadn't said anything and she nodded. She looked at the ground and turned around to leave.

"Sharpay, wait!" Gabriella said, making Sharpay stop and look at her. Gabriella sighed and stood up. "I accept your apologies and apologize for what I said to you. I'm not the kind of girl who wishes bad things for other people, so I'm sorry."

"Well, thanks." Sharpay said with a small smile. "And I promise that from now on, I'm gonna be way different."

Gabriella smiled.

"After all, the Holidays are a magical time." Sharpay smiled. "Everyone should enjoy it."

"Yeah. And everyone should have friends." Gabriella said. "Listen, I promise that whatever this secret is, I'm not gonna hurt you because of it if I find out, or if you decide to tell me."

"Thanks." Sharpay smiled. "I think I'll end up telling you, you're gonna spend 2 weeks with us after all."

"Yeah. Take your time, though, alright? If you got hurt because of it, then it's your decision whether to tell me or not and if you decide not to, I'll totally understand." Gabriella said. Sharpay nodded and turned around to leave once again.

"Oh, if you want to play with Boi, just call him." Sharpay said. "He loves to interact with new people."

"Thanks." Gabriella said.

"Would you like a tour around the house?" Sharpay asked.

"Sure, that'd be great." Gabriella said. "I can unpack before I go to bed."

Gabriella put her clothes on top of her bed and followed Sharpay out of the room.

Sharpay showed her everything; the third floor living room, the other rooms, the movies room where there was also a karaoke, her parents' office and then she went to the living room, where she found Robert and Ryan sitting on the couch, enjoying the fire. The two were a bit surprised to see Sharpay showing Gabriella around.

"And this is the living room." Sharpay said. "We normally put the Christmas tree on that corner." She pointed the left side of the fireplace. The windows were wall length and they were huge. They had the view to the mountain and the other ones were normal.

"Which by the way, will be getting here before lunch tomorrow." Robert said. "Your mother and I will go grocery shopping for some things and you kids could decorate the tree."

"That's a good idea." Sharpay said. "Oh, I haven't showed you the best thing, come here!" she grabbed Gabriella's arm and practically dragged her upstairs to her bedroom, which was all pink and beautiful. It actually looked like a pink version of a honeymoon suite.

"Wow." Gabriella said.

"What? I haven't showed you anything yet." Sharpay said.

"What's with the honeymoon suite?" Gabriella asked. "You've had a lot of boys come here?"

Sharpay giggled.

"Never." She said. "I just like the design."

"It's very nice." Gabriella nodded.

"Thanks, now come on." She grabbed Gabriella's hand and took her to her balcony, to reveal a huge hot tub with a lamp inside which made Gabriella wonder.

"That is so cool!" Gabriella said. "What does that lamp do?"

"You know when you turn on some lamp and it just starts shining brightly? It's called light." Sharpay said sarcastically. Gabriella slapped her arm.

"I'm asking why is it there!" she said.

"It changes color." Sharpay said.

"It fits the honeymoon suite." Gabriella nodded.

"It is _not_ a honeymoon suite." Sharpay said.

"Fine, fine." Gabriella said.

"Oh, you're free to use the hot tub, by the way." Sharpay said. "It's in here just because I'm the one who uses it the most."

"What? This is so cool, why doesn't your family use it?" Gabriella asked.

"I know, but my parents have a hot tub in their bathroom and Ryan doesn't really like it." Sharpay shrugged.

"That's shocking." Gabriella said. "Man, I'm gonna be in here all the time!"

"So that makes two of us." Sharpay said and the two giggled.

**. **

Ryan heard the giggling and footsteps coming downstairs and he turned to his dad.

"It looks like they never had that horrible argument." He said.

"I knew this girl would be the right friend for your sister." Marvelle said, joining the guys, offering each a cup of hot chocolate.

"Hey mom? Can Gabi make some Gabiccinos?" Sharpay asked as she and Gabriella showed up inside the living room. Marvelle raised an eyebrow at them.

"You're calling her by her nickname now?" she asked.

"Yeah. We talked about what I said and I apologized. It was stupid and I apologize to everyone." She said. "That won't happen anymore."

"That's good to know." Robert nodded.

"Yeah, now go. Go make your… whateverccinos." Marvelle said, making the three teenagers laugh.

"It's Gabiccinos." Gabriella corrected her. "I make some for you if you want."

"No thanks, sweetie." Marvelle said. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Okay." Gabriella nodded and the two girls went to the kitchen.

Gabriella did the Gabiccinos, while Sharpay sat down on the counter and waited. She didn't even pay attention to it, she was just looking down at the table, sighing. Then suddenly a pink mug was placed in front of her and she immediately looked up.

"There you go." Gabriella said with a smile.

"Thank you." Sharpay smiled. She grabbed the mug and took a sip and she immediately smiled, never having tasted anything so sweet.

"This is so good! What's in this?"

"Milk, a spoonful of honey, sugar, some cinnamon and some condensed milk." Gabriella said.

"This is so good!" Sharpay said, taking another long sip. "I'm gonna be drinking those everyday!"

Gabriella giggled.

"I'm glad you liked it." Gabriella smiled.

Sharpay smiled back and they continued drinking their Gabiccinos. It was like they never had a serious argument.

Ryan was watching them interacting from the hallway and he was glad his sister was being a nice person now. He smiled. He knew Sharpay was capable of treating everyone in a nice way, especially Gabriella. He could see them becoming really nice friends.


	4. Now It's When The Holidays Really Begin!

Chapter 4 – Now It's When The Holdays Really Begin!

Ryan, Sharpay and Gabriella were watching a movie in the movies room just before dinner. They were told that the family would go out to dinner in their favorite restaurant, which Gabriella was curious to know. She loved winter, it was so romantic.

When the movie was ending, Marvelle went up to call them to go get ready for dinner.

"Alright, I think I should take a shower." Ryan said.

"Me too." Sharpay and Gabriella said at the same time.

"Alright kids, there are showers for everybody." Marvelle giggled. "Just make sure you go to the living room when you're ready."

"Alright." The three teens said.

"I'll take a shower first, since I'm the fastest and then you two girls can take one." Ryan said. He smiled at the two and left the room.

"So, where are we going for dinner?" Gabriella asked.

"It's an Italian restaurant." Sharpay said. "Ryan and I just love lasagna. Our parents love it too, but not as much as Ryan and I."

"Oh cool, I love lasagna too! I love Italian food, actually." Gabriella said. "My mother taught me how to make homemade pizza."

"Oh that must be delicious!" Sharpay said. "You gotta make it while we're here!"

"I will." Gabriella nodded and giggled. The silence in the room was comfortable after that. Gabriella looked down at her hands and started playing with her fingers, until Sharpay spoke.

"It's so much better this way, isn't it?" Sharpay asked.

"How?" Gabriella asked, confused.

"Without fights. I just can't believe I said all those things." Sharpay said, sighing. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gabriella said. "I forgave you."

Sharpay smiled and in that moment, Boi come in jumping and barking happily at the two.

"Hey Boi! Where were you, cutie?" Gabriella asked.

"Wanna come up, Boi, come on!" Sharpay indicated the spot between her and Gabriella. Boi quickly jumped in between the two. Gabriella giggled and caressed his ears while Sharpay watched and smiled.

"He's a really great dog." Gabriella said.

"He is." Sharpay nodded. "Aren't you, Boi?" she spoke with a baby voice. Boi looked at his owner and tilted his head to the side.

"You are so cute, Boi! I wish I had a dog." Gabriella said. "You trained him yourself?"

"Yep." Sharpay nodded. "I trained him to do some choreography with me. Ryan and I would show it off to our parents and relatives when we were young."

"That is so cool!" Gabriella said. Sharpay nodded with a smile.

"It is." Sharpay nodded.

Ryan soon came back into the room with a smile, wearing blue jeans a white polo shirt, a blue sweater and a grey fedora.

"Okay. Next one." Ryan said.

"You can go first, Gabi, I'm gonna take a very long time." Sharpay said.

"Okay." Gabriella smiled and left to go shower. Sharpay smiled and sighed, playing with her dog.

"So." Ryan said, taking a seat beside his sister. "I can see you guys are doing so much better than yesterday."

"We are. She is a really nice girl, you were right." Sharpay said. "I can see us becoming really good friends."

"Me too, Shar. Me too." Ryan smiled. "What about your secret? Are you going to tell her?"

"I think so. 'Cause if I don't, she'll probably find out on her own and she'll be afraid." Sharpay said. "It's better to hear it from me. But if I tell her like now she'll stop talking to me."

"Shar, Gabi is not like that. Believe me, she won't judge." Ryan said.

"I hope she doesn't." Sharpay sighed.

Soon, Gabriella was out of the shower and Sharpay went to take her shower and get ready. Gabriella was surprised when she came back 45 minutes later, all ready. Her hair was curly and she was wearing light blue jeans and brown UGGs and a white long sleeved shirt. She had a pink sweater on her hands and gloves. She looked gorgeous, like a celebrity.

"Okay, we should go down to the living room." Ryan said. The two girls agreed and went downstairs.

After a while, the family was heading to the restaurant. The ride was fun, it wasn't tense anymore like the previous day. Sharpay and Gabriella were now talking like two friends, and the three teenagers were getting closer now, they looked like triplets, talking all at the same time, laughing and all excited, just like children.

The restaurant was beautiful, it had this awesome feeling, it was like the type of restaurant you went to on a date. There were two little candles on every table and the light on the place was low, so it had that romantic feeling.

"This place is really cool!" Gabriella said.

"It is, and the food is awesome." Ryan said.

A waiter showed them to their table, it was a table beside the window, showing a view to the mountain. The Evans loved to sit there. Robert sat at the end of the table, opposite to the window, Marvelle sat to his right side, Ryan sat to his left, Sharpay beside him and Gabriella beside Marvelle, in front of Sharpay. Sharpay loved to sit by the window to watch the night and the mountain. Sometimes she even forgot to eat.

They ordered the lasagna, since the twins were begging like two children. Gabriella laughed and was curious to taste this famous lasagna they talked about so much. Gabriella turned to watch the mountain in the distance. It looked so quiet and beautiful, she could stare at it all night, until she felt somebody kick her leg very hard and her eyes immediately widened and she let out a weird, little masculine scream and put her head on the table, grabbing her ankle with her hands.

"Gabi, what happened?" Ryan asked.

"I was kicked on the ankle." Gabriella said, lifting her head.

"Oh my God, that was your leg? Sorry, I thought I had kicked the foot of the chair or table, sorry!" Sharpay said. "I was just adjusting my feet down the table… I'm sorry!"

"That's okay. Man, those boots are heavy." Gabriella said, rubbing her ankle.

"Sorry!" Sharpay said.

"That's okay, it was an accident." Gabriella said, assuring Sharpay she was alright, although she was still rubbing her ankle.

The rest of the dinner went by without any accidents. When the waiter brought their lasagna, Ryan and Sharpay went nuts, but they let Gabriella have the first piece, so she could taste how good it was. The first bite, Gabriella also went nuts. She couldn't believe this lasagna was so could.

"Oh my God, this is amazing!" she said. "The best lasagna I've ever had!" The blond twins just clapped and agreed, happy she loved it too. Marvelle and Robert just laughed.

"See, this is how I wanted Holidays to be." Marvelle said. The three teenagers looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah, this way is more fun." Robert agreed.

After dinner, the family headed home. Marvelle and Robert went straight to bed, they were both tired. Ryan, Sharpay and Gabriella went to the movies room to watch a movie. They wanted to watch some romantic movie. Ryan didn't, of course, but the two girls won. They decided to watch the first part of_ Titanic_, but it already made the girls' eyes water. Each girl was hugging a pillow tight and crying as they watched the movie. Ryan just watched the two and rolled his eyes.

"Ryan, stop rolling your eyes!" Sharpay said.

"It's just a movie!" Ryan said.

"Not it's not!" Gabriella said. "It actually happened."

"Not the Jack and Rose thing." Ryan said.

"Yes, but that is the best in the movie. Don't you wish you had that with someone?" Sharpay said.

"Well… yeah, but I'm not going to cry about it." Ryan said. He tried not to make it sound like the two girls were crazy, because he knew why Sharpay said that.

"You're made of stone! You're no romantic man!" Sharpay said, playfully.

"You're made of butter and you're a helpless romantic!" Ryan answered back. Sharpay giggled.

"Yep. That's me." She said, crossing her arms. Gabriella just watched the two argue and giggled.

"Alright, it's getting late, we have a Christmas tree to decorate tomorrow." Ryan said, standing up. "I'm gonna leave you two butter ladies alone to cry. Besides, I'm exhausted."

"Alright." The two said. Ryan waved at them and went to his room.

The two girls watched the movie for a few more minutes quietly, until Gabriella stood up and winced in pain.

"God my ankle still hurts." She said.

"Don't you think you should put some ice on it?" Sharpay asked.

"Uh… wouldn't it be better if I just stuck my foot out the window for a while?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay gave her a look.

"Come on, I'm serious." She said. "Why did you stand up for anyway?"

"I was gonna get something hot to drink." Gabriella said.

"Well, maybe you should go to your bed, I'll get the ice and make some hot chocolate for us, how about that?" Sharpay said.

"Fine. I don't want to cry my guts out with the movie anyway." Gabriella said.

She limped all the way to her bedroom while Sharpay went downstairs to the kitchen. She made hot chocolate and grabbed the ice, put it in a plastic bag and headed upstairs. She entered Gabriella's room to see her sitting on her bed, already wearing her pajamas, which looked completely soft and cute actually.

"Here it is." Sharpay said, placing a white and a pink mug on the nightstand with a smile.

"Thanks." Gabriella said.

"I'll be right back, I'll just put my nightgown on." She said and left.

A few minutes later, Sharpay was back, with a pink nighty and her head pulled back in a French braid.

"Here, let me help you with the ice." Sharpay grabbed the ice and lifted Gabriella's pajama pants to her knee, to see a small purple bruise. "Ouch, it looks like it hurts."

"It does." Gabriella said.

"Well here." Sharpay placed the ice on the bruise, making Gabriella gasp at the coldness immediately.

"It'll burn my leg!" she said.

"Oh, sorry I'll grab a towel." Sharpay said and ran to the bathroom to get a towel and came back, wrapping the plastic bag on the towel, then putting it back on Gabriella's ankle.

"I'm sorry again." She said.

"It's alright." Gabriella said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Sharpay sighed as she watched her.

"So, are you feeling more comfortable around me now?" she asked.

"Yeah." Gabriella said with a smile. "Very comfortable actually. How about you?"

Sharpay looked at her and thought for a little while.

"Yeah." She said as she played with her pink mug. "Just so you know, I never hated you."

"You didn't?" Gabriella asked, confused. "Then… why did you do all the stuff you did?"

"I just wanted the role in the musical." Sharpay said with a shrug. "It had nothing to do with you or Troy."

"So… you weren't trying to steal Troy from me?" Gabriella asked, trying to see if she had got this straight.

"No." Sharpay said. "I don't like Troy."

"Oh, so you like somebody else?" Gabriella asked with a small smirk. Sharpay remained serious.

"Not at the moment." She said. Gabriella sensed she was getting a bit uncomfortable with those questions and she wiped the smirk off of her face.

"Sorry if this conversation makes you uncomfortable." Gabriella said.

"It's okay." Sharpay said, looking up from her mug.

"Well, let's talk about something else, then." Gabriella said. "What do you want for Christmas?" she asked, cheerfully. Sharpay smiled.

"I don't know, I didn't ask my parents anything, I said 'surprise me'." Sharpay said. "How about you?"

"I asked my mom to bring something from Spain." Gabriella said. "She said Aunt Tally was gonna get something for me too."

"That's cool." Sharpay said. Gabriella noticed her sudden mood change, and sensed it was because of her questions.

"You changed very suddenly. I made you uncomfortable talking about crushes, right?" Gabriella said, knowingly.

"This is just something I feel comfortable talking only to Ryan. I'm sorry." Sharpay said.

"No, don't be sorry. It's because of your secret, right?" she asked and Sharpay nodded. "This is something important and personal to you."

"I just feel like I owe you an explanation." Sharpay said.

"You owe me nothing." Gabriella said. "It's your decision to tell me or not."

"I know." Sharpay said and sighed. "I feel like I should tell you before we get any closer otherwise I feel like you'll stop talking to me."

"Alright, if that's how you feel, then you can tell me. But don't do it unless you're completely sure you want to, okay?" Gabriella asked.

"Okay." Sharpay said with a sigh. "Maybe we should wait a couple more days, we had only one day as friends."

"Yeah." Gabriella smiled. "Alright, I think I'm gonna take this ice off before I freeze my leg." She said, grabbing the towel with the ice and sighing in relief.

"Let me take that down for you." Sharpay said. She grabbed the towel and the ice and offered the brunette a smile, which she returned and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Sharpay left the room and closed the door. She went downstairs and she couldn't help thinking about telling Gabriella her secret. She knew the brunette would probably be okay with it, but she was still afraid of what could happen if she wasn't okay.

** . **

The next morning, Gabriella woke up by Ryan knocking on her door and coming in, saying it was time to decorate the tree, that it was there already.

Gabriella groaned, but got up and went downstairs, dragged by Ryan, and found a very big, beautiful Christmas tree in the living room and Sharpay grabbing things out of boxes to put it on the tree. She looked up at Gabriella and smiled.

"Morning Gabs." She said.

"Morning." Gabriella said. "Where are your parents?"

"Grocery shopping, they're gonna be back at lunch, probably." Ryan said. "They said they even may eat lunch out."

"Alright." Gabriella said with a sleepy sigh.

"Come on, sleepyhead! Don't you want to decorate the tree?" Sharpay said.

"I do, but I want to wake up first." Gabriella said with eyes half closed. The twins laughed at her.

"Alright Ryan, go get her some breakfast." Sharpay said.

"Why me? I'm the one who woke her up." Ryan shot back. "She's your guest too, you know."

"I took care of her last night with her leg and all." Sharpay said.

"Alright, alright, I'm gonna go get breakfast for myself." Gabriella said, standing up from the couch and walking over to the kitchen. She wasn't exactly mad, because she knew the twins weren't exactly arguing.

Sharpay glared at Ryan and went after Gabriella to help her with breakfast. Gabriella sat down by the table and closed her eyes, resting her head on her hands, putting her elbows on the table.

"So, what do you want for breakfast?" Sharpay asked. "We still have some waffles left if you want. Or I can make French toast." She went on, looking inside the fridge and waiting for the brunette to answer. Sharpay frowned when she didn't get an answer and turned to look at Gabriella, who was sleeping on the table quietly. She giggled and came close to her and snapped her fingers in front of her sleeping face, making her open her eyes immediately.

"Hey! What, what?" Gabriella asked and noticed Sharpay standing in front of her, giggling.

"What do you want for breakfast? We have waffles left, but if you want I can…"

"Waffles is good." Gabriella said. "You don't need to make me something else, I'm good with waffles." Sharpay giggled. "What?" Gabriella asked, closing her eyes again.

"You're just funny when you're sleepy, that's all." Sharpay said. She put the waffles on the table. "What do you want to drink? We have orange juice, milk, coffee…"

"I'll have juice." Gabriella said with eyes closed. Sharpay giggled again and placed the juice on the table.

"I'll go back to helping Ryan, you come to the living room when you're done, alright?" Sharpay said. Gabriella didn't answer. "Gabriella!" she called. Gabriella jumped and opened her eyes again. "I'll go back to helping Ryan, come to the living room when you're done, okay?"

"Okay." Gabriella said and started eating her waffles. Sharpay giggled once more and left the kitchen and went back to the living room.

Once Gabriella was done with her breakfast, she was fully awake and ready to start decorating. Ryan put on some Holidays songs and the three started decorating the living room as well as dancing around, laughing and having a good time, all in their pajamas.

Ryan was now dancing with Gabriella, as he tried to waltz, but failed. Sharpay was watching the two, laughing loudly sitting on the couch.

They had finished the decoration and now they were just goofing around.

"Ryan, you don't know how to waltz!" Gabriella said, after trying to teach him. "I thought that for a dancer you'd be able to learn this quickly."

"Sorry, Shar tried to teach me, but waltz is the only kind of dance I can't do." Ryan said.

"I can see that!" Gabriella said while Sharpay laughed at the situation. "I give up!" she said and took a seat beside Sharpay on the couch. Ryan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms and looked at the two girls.

"Okay, what do you guys wanna do?" Ryan asked.

"Can we sing in the karaoke?" Sharpay asked. "We could sing in duets."

"That'd be cool." Gabriella said. The three stood up and went to the movies room.

Ryan and Sharpay agreed to let Gabriella to sing first, then Sharpay wanted to sing a song, maybe with someone, maybe not. Gabriella chose 'I Have Nothing' by Whitney Houston, surprising Ryan and Sharpay by her choice. But when the blond twins heard her singing, they were stunned. They had never seen her sing like that before, she surely had a wonderful voice and she surprised them everytime she sang.

Gabriella finished singing and waited patiently for the score. She looked at the screen and noticed Sharpay had stood up and was standing beside her, also waiting for the score. The number 99% showed on the screen and made Gabriella very proud.

"That was incredible! I can't believe you have that voice." Sharpay said.

"Thanks." Gabriella smiled and sat back down. Sharpay sighed as she chose the song.

"I wanna try 'Superbass'." Sharpay said.

"Again? What's the use, Shar, you don't know most of the song." Ryan said, giggling. "Maybe Gabi could help you."

"Maybe. Gabi, can you sing 'Superbass'? I don't know the rap parts." Sharpay said.

"I can." Gabriella said.

"Well you can sing with me!" Sharpay said excitedly.

"Sure!" Gabriella said. The two stood up and Gabriella grabbed another microphone. Sharpay selected duet and selected 'Superbass' and then the song began. Gabriella sang the rap easily, while Sharpay watched, very surprised. As soon as Gabriella finished her part, Sharpay sang hers. Ryan smiled. The two made a great team.

When they finished the song, the two waited patiently for the score. When the number 100% showed up on the screen, the two started jumping up and down and hugged each other happily. Sharpay couldn't help but notice how soft and good it felt to hug Gabriella while she was wearing those pajamas.

"Wow." She said.

"What?" Gabriella asked.

"It feels good to hug you with those pajamas." Sharpay said and they pulled apart. Gabriella giggled.

"Well… thanks?" she said, unsure. Sharpay giggled too.

"I think we should get dressed, I don't want our parents to come and find us still in our pajamas." Ryan said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Sharpay said.

"Oh Gabi, mom said this afternoon we're going skiing if you want to join us." Ryan said with a smile.

"Sure, but I should warn you guys that I never did that before so I don't know what might happen." Gabriella said.

"That's okay, we're not professionals." Sharpay said.

"Especially not you, right Shar?" Ryan said with a smirk towards his sister. Sharpay just shrugged without commenting.

The three put on some clothes and when Marvelle and Robert showed up, they ate lunch. Then, the five got ready and left the house. Gabriella had never gone skiing before, so she didn't know how to do it, and she was actually very nervous.

When they got there, it turned out it was that hard. Ryan was the fastest, while Marvelle and Robert tried to catch up with him, but stay close to the girls at the same time. Gabriella and Sharpay were the slowest ones. Gabriella barely had balance and sometimes she tried to hold Sharpay and she almost brought her to the ground. Ryan laughed at the two, but he tried not to pay attention to them.

About an hour and a half later, they decided to stop by a coffeehouse and drink a hot cup of coffee. On their way to the shop, Gabriella saw a jewelry store with a very beautiful necklace and she remembered she hadn't bought anything for her mother.

"Do you guys mind if I stop by some store later to buy something for my mom?" Gabriella asked.

"Not at all, sweetie." Marvelle said with a smile. Gabriella smiled back and continued drinking her coffee and eating her raspberry muffin.

When she finished, she got up and walked out of the store, going to a different one. She found lots of things she knew her mother would love, but she wasn't sure which one to get her. Gabriella was staring at a golden necklace with a heart. She smiled and thought this was the perfect gift for her mom. She was planning to buy her a card and write her something.

"That's beautiful." She heard Sharpay's voice behind her and it almost gave her a heart attack.

"Holly mother!" Gabriella said and jumped, placing her hand over her heart.

"Sorry, I thought you knew I came in after you." Sharpay said.

"No, I didn't." Gabriella said. "So you think this looks good?"

"Yeah." Sharpay said. "Your mom will love it."

"You think so?" Gabriella asked. Sharpay nodded as she still looked at the ring.

"Yeah!" Sharpay said. Gabriella giggled.

"Well, this is it, then." Gabriella decided with a smile. She paid for the necklace, bought a card and then the two met with Marvelle, Robert and Ryan and the family went back home.

* * *

_Hey! I'm so terribly sorry for the long wait, you have no idea how crazy my life is right now! I haven't used my computer for over a month! Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to post the next one as soon as possible :)_


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